INDIANAPOLIS (AP) 鈥� A federal appeals court has reinstated an Indiana law adopted in 2016 that requires abortion clinics to either bury or cremate fetal remains.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals released Monday overturns an that the law infringed upon the religious and free speech rights of people who do not believe aborted fetuses deserve the same treatment as deceased people.
The appeals court cited a the fetal remains provisions of the law signed by then-Gov. Mike Pence and that the state had a legitimate interest in how those remains are disposed.
鈥淚ndiana does not require any woman who has obtained an abortion to violate any belief, religious or secular,鈥� the appeals court ruling said. 鈥淭he cremate-or-bury directive applies only to hospitals and clinics.鈥�
Indiana鈥檚 Republican-dominated Legislature approved an abortion ban law over the summer, but abortions have been allowed to continue after a who argue the ban violates the state constitution. The to hear arguments in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit against the on behalf of the Women鈥檚 Med Group abortion clinic in Indianapolis, its owner, two nurse practitioners who work at the clinic and three women.
Attorneys for the group didn鈥檛 immediately respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday.
The group鈥檚 lawsuit argued Indiana鈥檚 requirements caused both abortion and miscarriage patients 鈥渟hame, stigma, anguish, and anger鈥� because they 鈥渟end the unmistakable message that someone who has had an abortion or miscarriage is responsible for the death of a person.鈥�
Republican state Attorney General Todd Rokita praised the court鈥檚 ruling as recognizing the fetal remains as more than medical waste.
鈥淭hey are human beings who deserve the dignity of cremation or burial,鈥� Rokita said in a statement. 鈥淭he appellate court鈥檚 decision is a win for basic decency.鈥�
Tom Davies, The Associated Press
